Art panels left in Chad during battle

Efforts underway to recover Meadow students’ work to help refugees

Sharon Galindo Onye Onyemaechi drums with Meadow Elementary School art teacher Jackie Yurth and student Paige Hulsman. Zoom Photo

Fire from tanks and guns pierced the air outside Le Meridien Hotel in D’Jamena, Chad last month, while inside a room there, images of peace and hope sprang from 300 panels painted by Petaluma elementary school students.

The contrast was striking, and vividly symbolized the ongoing political struggles in northeast Africa, as well as global efforts — including Tents of Hope Petaluma — to end the resulting genocide of innocent civilians.

“Rebels supported by the government quickly marched to the capital city, and a battle began on Feb. 1,” said Petaluma resident Tim Nonn, the national coordinator of Tents of Hope. “Bullets were flying all around, and people were frantic.”

Four people affiliated with Tents of Hope, including Gabriel Stauring and Katie-Jay Scott, were in the hotel. They had taken panels painted on one side by Meadow Elementary School students to Farchana Refugee Camp in Chad, where Sudanese children painted the other side. The panels were being kept in a hotel room, but were to be taken back to the United States, where personnel from Reliable Tents Co. in Montana planned to sew them together to form an 8-foot-by-10-foot tent that would be displayed at a national Tents of Hope gathering in Washington, D.C., Nov. 7-9.

As the crisis continued, Nonn and other Tents of Hope personnel worked around the clock, contacting U.S. governmental leaders and media personnel to make them aware of the four Americans’ plight.

The battle raged for several days. French military forces stationed a tank at the hotel entrance and employees grouped guests together, but their lives still were in danger.

“I was able to get through to the Americans on the phone, and could hear bullets and explosions in the background,” Nonn said. “Gabriel was going nuts: He has a wife and children in Los Angeles.”

French forces began evacuating nationals from their homeland, and on Feb. 5 U.S. State Department officials were able to convince them to release the Americans, who were not injured.

“They were pretty traumatized, though, and they all were told that they could take only one backpack each out of the hotel. So, the panels were left behind,” Nonn said.

The panels were left with representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and now are being kept at their compound in Abeche.

“We were told they would be left there until we return,” Scott said. “We presume they are there, but will not know for sure until we return.”

“I think we’ll be able to get them back, hopefully in a month or so,” Nonn added. “The rebels were defeated decisively in D’Jamena, and European peace keepers now are there, so I don’t think there will be an uprising again.”

The side of the panels painted by Meadow students contrast markedly with those painted by refugee children. Whereas the Petaluma children painted bright, colorful panels with optimistic messages, their Darfuri counterparts created dark, sometimes violent scenes.

“At first, I was surprised by what the refugee children painted, but then I began to think, ‘What did I expect?’’ Nonn said. “They painted what they observed, and in a way, this was therapy for them. Authentic hope comes from a realistic confrontation with violence.”

Nonn said that the images painted by Meadow students also helped to uplift the refugees.

“Usually, the refugees aren’t very happy, but the workers told me that wherever the panels went in the camp, people smiled and got excited,” he said.

In fact, their enthusiasm created an unexpected problem.

“They wanted to keep the panels,” Nonn said, laughing. “We plan to send some other panels and art supplies to them. Some of the panels will be painted by Meadow School students.”

(Contact Dan Johnson at dan.johnson@arguscourier.com)